


Candy Apple Red

by SecretMaker



Series: Tumblr Drabbles 2015 [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Early post for RinRin's Birthday, Fluff, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 02:38:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3102446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretMaker/pseuds/SecretMaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nanase Haruka woke up on an inconspicuous Tuesday morning to the sight of gleaming red eyes and a soft blush on pale cheeks, the first thought through his head was that the mackerel in the fridge would go bad if he didn’t eat it soon. His second thought was that if Rin insisted on watching him sleep, he should not get to complain when Haru made him pose for a drawing. As these thoughts flickered dully through his mind, Rin continued to stare at him, lips stretching into a toothy smile.</p><p>“Come on, Haru,” he said softly as he reached out to touch the other’s cheek. “It’s time to get up.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Candy Apple Red

1-2-15  
Prompt: Candy Apple Red  
When Nanase Haruka woke up on an inconspicuous Tuesday morning to the sight of gleaming red eyes and a soft blush on pale cheeks, the first thought through his head was that the mackerel in the fridge would go bad if he didn’t eat it soon. His second thought was that if Rin insisted on watching him sleep, he should not get to complain when Haru made him pose for a drawing. As these thoughts flickered dully through his mind, Rin continued to stare at him, lips stretching into a toothy smile.

“Come on, Haru,” he said softly as he reached out to touch the other’s cheek. “It’s time to get up.”

“Where’s Makoto?” Haru asked. He nuzzled closer into Rin’s touch and slid his leg forward under the blanket until he could hook an ankle around one of Rin’s.

“Had a meeting with a parent, I think,” Rin answered. “He said he’d meet you at his school around ten.” The redhead looked displeased with this information, but Haru ignored it along with the urge to smile at him. Instead, he rolled onto his back and stretched his arms above his head, shaking off the last bits of sleep. He shot one last glance at Rin, catching the increasingly disappointed expression he was wearing, before rolling out of bed and making his way into the bathroom. Haru smiled softly to himself as he got ready to meet up with Makoto.

 

* * *

 

“Rin’s upset,” came the quiet voice behind him.

“Good morning, Haru,” laughed Makoto. “He’s not too upset, is he? Maybe this is a bad idea…”

“He’s fine,” Haru replied. “He just thinks we forgot. He’ll be fine tonight.” Makoto smiled as Haru’s eyes got that slightly far-away look they always did when he thought about their red-headed lover. Makoto felt a smile of his own rise up in answer, and he slipped his hand into Haru’s. “Let’s go,” he murmured.

The pair walked hand in hand to the shopping center across from the school where Makoto taught literature and advised for the swim club. Makoto dug out a carefully folded piece of paper as they passed the first few buildings and squinted at the items on the list. They had one shot at this, and everything had to be perfect.

 

Rin hated his days off from training. Before, it had been easy enough to ignore instruction and slip to the local gym so that he didn’t go absolutely nuts from inactivity, but ever since Makoto had snitched on him to his coach, he was under heavy surveillance. Rin was pretty sure there was a picture of him and a copy of his schedule at the front desk of all the local pools, right next to the one of Haru, so that the secretaries knew who to keep out. His coach was a persistent and disgustingly thorough man. Rin sighed heavily, trying to muster the energy to raise himself off the couch. Failing miserably, he buried his face in a pillow that smelled faintly of Makoto. For a moment, he let his eyes fall closed and reveled in the scent of his boyfriend. Then the memories of that morning came flooding back and he sat up abruptly, angry once more. Of all the days to forget!

Grumbling to himself, Rin levered his weight off of the couch and stomped over to the door. He collected his running shoes and tied his hair back before stalking out of the apartment.

There was a park nearby with enough twisting paths for a runner to lose himself in for an hour or two. Rin made his way toward it, grumbling all the while and failing altogether to notice the tail he had picked up as soon as he left his front door.

 

* * *

 

The sun was beginning to sink when Haru put the last of the finishing touches in place. Silently, he turned and surveyed the room, done up in all different shades of red, blue, and green. A large cake sat in the middle of the table, decorated with a motif of dolphins, sharks, and orcas. There was a large arrangement of snacks around it which was currently being eyed by Nagisa, who was in turn being eyed by Rei. There were streamers hanging from the ceiling and all the furniture, showcasing the large photo on the far wall of the three of them. Above the photo hung a banner that read in bright, cheery letters penned by Nagisa and Rei, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINRIN! Haru bit back a smile at the thought of the shark’s reaction to that. He gave the place one last look over, then turned to Makoto and nodded. Makoto grinned, just in time to look down at his buzzing phone.

“Ah! That’s Sousuke.” Haru made a face. “Okay, everyone, Rin’ll be here in two minutes! Find somewhere to hide, and stay quiet!” Haru smiled a bit at the way Makoto was looking right at Nagisa when he said that. He turned to dim the lights before squeezing in behind the couch next to Makoto and Gou. While they waited in silence, Haru noticed Makoto fidgeting with something in his hands. Haru reached over and linked their fingers together, hoping he could see the Haru’s reassuring smile in the darkness. He leaned over to whisper something, but before he could get close enough, the sound of a key turning the lock echoed through the apartment. Rin swung the door open and stepped into the genkan with an audible sigh. As he flicked the lights on, the room erupted into one giant shout of “Surprise!”

“Wha-“ Rin sputtered and blinked rapidly, eyes moving over the entire room before they landed on Haru. As he watched, those beautiful red eyes grew softer, then brightened again with comprehension, disbelief, then utter joy. Before he could say anything, Nagisa launched himself at the redhead.

“Happy birthday, Rinrin!” cried the blond, latching his arms around Rin’s neck.

“Nagisa-kun!” Haru watched as Rei stormed over and began scolding Nagisa. He smiled at the sight of his friends and relaxed into the party.

 

* * *

 

Hours later, when everyone had gone, the three lounged in bed, fully dressed and on top of the covers. Rin lay in the middle, pressed against Makoto’s chest and running his fingers through Haru’s dark hair. He sighed with contentment.

“You know,” he said softly, breaking the easy silence, “I really thought you two’d forgotten this year.”

“Idiot,” muttered Haru. Makoto chuckled.

“Rin, you should have known better,” he said gently, tightening his hold on the redhead. “We would never forget something so important to you.”

“Speaking of which,” he started, and Haru groaned softly at the arrogant tone in his voice, “where the hell is my present? Everyone else got me one. Hell, the twins even made me one!” Makoto chuckled and dug into his pocket.

“Don’t worry, Rin, we got you something,” he said, pulling out the little grey velvet box they had picked up earlier that day. He opened it, then handed it to Rin. Nestled inside were three simple silver bands, each embedded with a small stone, one blue, one green, and one red. Rin, for once, was speechless.

Haru levered himself up into a sitting position and plucked the red one from the case. Gently, he took hold of Rin’s right hand and slipped the band onto his ring finger. “It’s not the same as a wedding band,” he said softly, “but we figured that since we couldn’t give each other those, we could at least do this.” Makoto hummed in agreement and took out the blue ring, holding his hand out for Haru’s.

“We love you, Rin,” he said, “and we know you love us. We want to spend the rest of our lives together.” By this point, Rin had tears in his eyes. Still, he said nothing as he pulled out the third and last ring, dropping the box on the bedspread and slipping it onto Makoto’s finger. He linked their hands together and laid them on his lap. Haru placed his right hand on both of theirs, and they all looked down at the image of their rings one against the other.

“Happy birthday, Rin,” they both whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> I had a sweet little drabble, and then it grew into this monstrosity.  
> Part of my Daily Drabbles over at [Tumblr](http://notsuchasecret.tumblr.com/dailydrabbles)


End file.
